Predicting the tensile strength of bleach washed denim garments by using fuzzy logic modeling

Abstract

The prime intention of this study is to develop and validate the efficiency of a fuzzy logic model to predict the tensile strength of bleach washed denim garments. Denim washing is nowadays a widely used technology to give a worn-out appearance to denim garments and thus add esthetic to that garments’ appearance and outlook. In the case of regular overall fading of denim, bleach washing is very popular. At the same time, it is also a matter of concern that the process optimization of bleach washing is critical as bleaching agents have an adverse effect on the fabrics. Among others, bleach concentration, time, and temperature are the primary process parameters in bleach washing, which directly impact the final strength of the treated denim garments. Though their relationship is nonlinear, a fuzzy expert-based system has been constructed to model and illustrate the complex relationship among bleach concentration, time, and temperature in the input side, whereas tensile strength is the output. Strength is the most critical parameter of the final denim product, as it dominates the serviceability of that garments. Therefore, predicting the tensile strength without the trial-and-error method, which is being practiced now, can be a blessing for industrial practitioners. With the help of a laboratory trial, the developed model has been evaluated, and it has been found that the mean relative error was 2.82 and 3.92 for warp and weft direction tensile strength, respectively. On the other hand, the comparison exhibited a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.99 for both warp and weft direction tensile strengths. The authors found that the performance of the developed model is satisfactory enough to predict the tensile strength of the bleach washed denim garments.